The Twilight Saga Quotes
by softangelwings
Summary: A collection of my favorite quotes from the Twilight saga. Chapter 1- Twilight, Chapter 2- New Moon, Chapter 3- Eclipse, Chapter 4- Breaking Dawn.
1. Twilight

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Twilight Quotes**

_**Page 1**_

"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end."

_**Page 9**_

It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape.

_**Page 22**_

I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.

_**Page 24**_

I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind.

_**Page 25**_

"So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

_**Page 31**_

It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.

_**Page 41**_

I was sure, though, in the instant ou reyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.

_**Page 46**_

I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me -- the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone.

_**Page 64**_

"I saved your life -- I don't owe you anything."

_**Page 65**_

"In that case...I hope you enjoy disappointment."

_**Page 74**_

"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."

_**Page 81**_

"Bella, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant."

_**Page 83**_

Stupid, shiny Volvo owner.

_**Page 84**_

"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."

_**Page 87**_

"I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."

_**Page 92**_

"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?"

_**Page 138**_

Could the Cullens be vampires? Well, they were _something_. Something outside the possibility of rational justification was taking place in front of my incredulous eyes. Whether it be Jacob's _cold ones_ or my own superhero theory, Edward Cullen was not...human. He was something more.

_**Page 156**_

Stupid, unreliable vampire.

_**Page 168**_

"Do I dazzle _you_?"

_**Page 173**_

"I was wrong -- you're much more observant than I gave you credit for."

_**Page 185**_

"Not really." I paused. "But I _am_ curious." My voice, at least, was composed.

He was suddenly resigned. "What are you curious about?"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," he answered promptly.

"And how long have you been seventeen?"

His lips twitched as he stared at the road. "A while," he admitted at last.

_**Page 190**_

"It's wrong. It's not safe. I'm dangerous, Bella -- please, grasp that."

_**Page 213**_

He rolled his eyes. "Of all the things about me that could frighten you, you worry about my driving."

_**Page 215**_

"Grizzly is Emmett's favorite."

_**Page 216**_

"If you've ever seen a bear attack on television, you should be able to visualize Emmett hunting."

_**Page 221**_

"He looks at you like...like you're something to eat."

_**Page 257**_

His cold touch on my skin never failed to make my heart thud erratically. Twice, when that happened, I caught a look on his face that made me sure he could somehow hear it.

_**Page 260**_

Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn't get used to it, though I'd been staring at him all afternoon. His skin, white despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface.

_**Page 274**_

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb...," he murmured. I looked away, hiding my eyes as I thrilled to the word.

"What a stupid lamb," I sighed.

"What a sick, masochistic lion."

_**Page 281**_

"Hah! You're as white as a ghost -- no, you're as white as _me_!"

_**Page 282**_

He hesitated -- not in the normal way, the human way. Not the way a man might hesitate before he kissed a woman, to gauge her reaction, to see how he would be received. Perhaps he would hesitate to prolong the moment, that ideal moment of anticipation, sometimes better than the kiss itself. Edward hesitated to test himself, to see if this was safe, to make sure he was still in control of his need. And then his cold, marble lips pressed very softly against mine.

_**Page 284**_

"Take it easy -- my truck is a senior citizen."

_**Page 294**_

"If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I'm not ashamed of it."

_**Page 302**_

"Isn't it supposed to be like this?" He smiled. "The glory of first love, and all that. It's incredible, isn't it, the difference between reading about something, seeing it in the pictures, and experiencing it?"

_**Page 303**_

"I wrestled all night, while watching you sleep, with the chasm between what I knew was _right_, moral, ethical, and what I _wanted_. I knew that if I continued to ignore you as I should, or if I left for a few years, till you were gone, that someday you would say yes to Mike, or someone like him. It made me angry."

_**Page 305**_

"You only have to risk your life every second you spend with me, that's surely not much. You only have to turn your back on nature, on humanity...what's that worth?"

_**Page 314**_

"You are my life now," he answered simply.

_**Page 320**_

"And you're worried, not because you're headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think those vampires won't approve of you, correct?"

"That's right," I answered immediately, hiding my surprise at his casual use of the word.

He shook his head. "You're incredible."

_**Page 325**_

Esme noticed my preoccupation.

"Do you play?" she asked, inclining her head toward the piano.

I shook my head. "Not at all. But it's so beautiful. Is it yours?"

"No," she laughed. "Edward didn't tell you he was musical?"

"No." I glared at his suddenly innocent expression with narrowed eyes. "I should have known, I guess."

Esme raised her delicate eyebrows in confusion.

"Edward can do everything, right?" I explained.

Jasper snickered and Esme gave Edward a reproving look.

"I hope you haven't been showing off -- it's rude," she scolded.

"Just a bit," he laughed freely. Her face softened at the sound, and they shared a brief look that I didn't understand, though Esme's face seemed almost snug.

"He's been too modest, actually," I corrected.

"Well, play for her," Esme encouraged.

"You just said showing off was rude," he objected.

"There are exceptions to every rule," she replied.

_**Page 329**_

"No coffins, no piled skulls in the corners; I don't even think we have cobwebs...what a disappointment this must be for you," he continued slyly.

_**Page 346**_

"It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you would share," Alice announced.

I stiffened for an instant, until I realized Edward was grinning -- whether at her comment or my response, I couldn't tell.

"Sorry, I don't believe I have enough to spare," he replied, his arms holding me recklessly close.

"Actually," Jasper said, smiling despite himself as he walked into the room, "Alice says there's going to be a real storm tonight, and Emmett wants to play ball. Are you game?"

_**Page 349**_

He rolled his eyes. "I could _walk_ home faster than this truck moves."

_**Page 363**_

"Damn it, Bella!" he broke off, gasping. "You'll be the death of me, I swear you will."

_**Page 367**_

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett said with easy familiarity, winking at me.

_**Page 378**_

Three things seemed to happen simultaneously while Carlisle was speaking. My hair ruffled with the light breeze, Edward stiffened, and the second male, James, suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing me, his nostrils flaring.

_**Page 391**_

Emmett reached over to help me get out of the harness. "Don't worry, Bella," he said in a low but cheerful voice, "we'll take care of things here quickly."

I felt moisture fillig up my eyes as I looked at Emmett. I barely knew him, and yet, somehow, not knowing when I would see him again after tonight was anguishing. I knew this was just a faint taste of the goodbyes I would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made the tears begin to spill.

_**Page 397**_

"If you didn't smell so appallingly luscious, he might not have bothered. But when I defended you...well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life. Suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge -- a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one vulnerable element. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now. It's his favorite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever."

_**Page 404**_

Jasper and I looked at each other. He stood across the length of the entryway from me...being careful.

"You're wrong, you know," he said quietly.

"What?" I gasped.

"I can feel what you're feeling now -- and you _are_ worth it."

"I'm not," I mumbled. "If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing."

"You're wrong," he repeated, smiling kindly at me.

_**Page 431**_

I had to accept that I wouldn't see Edward again, not even one last glimpse of his face to carry with me to the mirror room. I was going to hurt him, and I couldn't say goodbye.

_**Page 443**_

Terror seized me so strongly that I was literally trapped by it. I couldn't make my feet move forward.

_**Page 445**_

"Hmmm. Well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be quite honest, I'm disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge. And, after all, I only needed a little luck."

_**Page 449**_

"That's a very nice effect," he said, examining the mess of glass, his voice friendly again. "I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. That's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?"

_**Page 459**_

"I was almost too late. I could have been too late," he whispered, his voice tormented.

_**Page 462**_

"Afraid of a needle," he muttered to himself under his breath, shaking his head. "Oh, a sadistic vampire, intent on torturing her to death, sure, no problem, she runs off to meet him. An _IV_, on the other hand..."

_**Page 463**_

"Not really," he said. "Alice had a little bit too much fun fabricating evidence. It's all been taken care of very convincingly -- you could probably sue the hotel if you wanted to. You have nothing to worry about," he promised, stroking my cheek with the lightest of touches. "Your only job now is to heal."

_**Page 474**_

"You _are_ my life. You're the only thing it would hurt me to lose." I was getting better at this. It was easy to admit how much I needed him.

_**Page 485**_

Emmett enjoyed having me around -- he thought my bizarre human reactions were hilarious...or maybe it was just the fact that I fell down a lot that he found so funny.

_**Page 487**_

"Oh, I'm with the vampires, of course."

_**Page 492**_

"So, should I tell him you said to butt the hell out?"

_**Page 495**_

"Twilight, again," he murmured. "Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end."

_**Page 497**_

"No, you're right, it's not," he agreed, his smile fading. "I'd rather treat it like a joke, though, than believe you're serious."

"But I am serious."

He sighed deeply. "I know. And you're really that willing?"

The pain was back in his eyes. I bit my lip and nodded.

"So ready for this to be the end," he murmured, almost to himself, "for this to be the twilight of your life, though your life has barely started. You're ready to give up everything."

"It's not the end, it's the beginning," I disagreed under my breath.

"I'm not worth it," he said sadly.

"Do you remember when you told me that I didn't see myself very clearly?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You obviously have the same blindness."

_**Page 498**_

"Bella." His fingers lightly traced the shape of my lips. "I _will_ stay with you -- isn't that enough?"

I smiled under his fingertips. "Enough for now."

He frowned at my tenacity. No one was going to surrender tonight. He exhaled, and the sound was practically a growl.

I touched his face. "Look," I said. "I love you more than everything else in the world combined. Isn't that enough?"

"Yes, it is enough," he answered, smiling. "Enough for forever."

And he leaned down to press his cold lips once more to my throat.


	2. New Moon

**Disclaimer: I don't own New Moon. Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**New Moon Quotes**

_**Page 1**_

I felt like I was trapped in one of those terrifying nightmares, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can't make your body move fast enough.

_**Page 2**_

As the clock began to toll out the hour, vibrating under the soles of my sluggish feet, I knew I was too late -- and I was glad something bloodthirsty waited in the wings. For in failing at this, I forfeited any desire to live.

_**Page 4**_

I didn't have to look to know who it was; this was a voice I would know anywhere -- know, and respond to, whether I was awake or asleep...or even dead, I'd bet. The voice I'd walk through fire for -- or, less dramatically, slosh every day through the cold and endless rain for. Edward.

_**Page 9**_

"You're only a senior once. Might as well document the experience."

_**Page 15**_

"You want a nice stereo? Drive your own car."

_**Page 16**_

Edward had drawn many careful lines for our physical relationship, with the intent being to keep me alive. Though I respected the need for maintaining a safe distance between my skin and his razor-sharp, venom-coated teeth, I tended to forget about trivial things like that when he was kissing me.

_**Page 19**_

"Well, I wasn't going to live without you. But I wasn't sure how to _do_ it -- I knew Emmett and Jasper would never help...so I was thinking maybe I would go to Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi."

******

"What is a _Volturi_?" I demanded.

******

"Anyway, you don't irritate the Volturi. Not unless you want to die -- or whatever it is we do."

_**Page 23**_

"Bella, the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett in 1935. Cut us a little slack, and don't be too difficult tonight. They're all very excited."

_**Page 24**_

Emmett, Edward's playful bear of a brother, I _did_ miss. He was in many ways just like the big brother I'd always wanted...only much, much more terrifying.

_**Page 25**_

"If I develop this film, will you show up in the picture?"

_**Page 26**_

"Sorry about this, Bella. We couldn't rein Alice in."

******

"You haven't changed at all. I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, red-faced just like always."

******

"I have to step out for a second. Don't do anything funny while I'm gone."

_**Page 29**_

Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm -- into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.

_**Page 32**_

"Why are you so masochistic?"

_**Page 34**_

"What I enjoy the very most is when my...enhanced abilities let me save someone who would otherwise have been lost. It's pleasant knowing that, thanks to what I can do, some people's lives are better because I exist. Even the sense of smell is a useful diagnostic tool at times."

_**Page 35**_

"You try very hard to make up for something that was never your fault. What I mean is, it's no like you asked for this. You didn't choose this kind of life, and yet you have to work so _hard_ to be good."

******

"Like everything in life, I just had to decide what to do with what I was given."

_**Page 36**_

"So I didn't agree with my father's particular brand of faith. But never, in the nearly four hundred years now since I was born, have I ever seen anything to make me doubt whether God exists in some form or the other. Not even the reflection in the mirror."

******

"I'm sure all this sounds a little bizarre, coming from a vampire. But I'm hoping that there is still a point to this life, even for us. It's a long shot, I'll admit. By all accounts, we're damned regardless. But I hope, maybe foolishly, that we'll get some measure of credit for trying."

_**Page 38**_

"I _think_, in most other ways, that I've done the best I could with what I had to work with. But was it right to doom the others to this life? I can't decide."

_**Page 41**_

His face was smooth, unreadable, but there was something wrong with his eyes -- something he was trying very hard to hide. I felt a spasm of unease in my stomach.

_**Page 45**_

"How the hell did Mike Newton end up in this conversation?"

_**Page 52**_

I was halfway asleep, maybe more, when I realized what his kiss had reminded me of: last spring, when he'd had to leave me to throw James off my trail, Edward had kissed me goodbye, not knowing when--or if--we would see each other again. This kiss had the same almost painful edge for some reason I couldn't imagine.

_**Page 57**_

James had left me broken and nearly dead from loss of blood--and yet Edward had handled the interminable weeks in the hospital much better than this. Was it because, this time, it wasn't an enemy he'd had to protect me from? Because it was his brother?

_**Pages 68-71**_

He took a deep breath.

"Bella, we're leaving."

I took a deep breath, too. This was an acceptable option. I thought I was prepared. But I still had to ask.

"Why now? Another year--"

"Bella, it's time. How much longer could we stay in Forks, after all? Carlisle can barely pass for thirty, and he's claiming thirty-three now. We'd have to start over soon regardless."

His answer confused me. I thought the point of leaving was to let his family live in peace. Why did we have to leave if they were going? I stared at him, trying to understand what he meant.

He stared back coldly.

With a roll of nausea, I realized I'd misunderstood.

"When you say _we_--," I whispered.

"I mean my family and myself." Each word separate and distinct.

I shook my head back and forth mechanically, trying to clear it. He waited without any sign of impatience. It took a few minutes before I could speak.

"Okay," I said. "I'll come with you."

"You can't, Bella. Where we're going...It's not the right place for you."

"Where you are is the right place for me."

"I'm no good for you, Bella."

"Don't be ridiculous." I wanted to sound angry, but it just sounded like I was begging. "You're the very best part of my life."

"My world is not for you," he said grimly.

"What happened with Jasper -- that was nothing, Edward! Nothing!"

"You're right," he agreed. "It was exactly what was to be expected."

"You promised! In Phoenix, you promised that you would stay--"

"As long as that was best for you," he interrupted to correct me.

"_No! _This is about my soul, isn't it?" I shouted, furious, the words exploding out of me--somehow it still sounded like a plea. "Carlisle told me about that, and I don't care, Edward. I don't care! You can have my soul. I don't want it without you--it's yours already!"

He took a deep breath and stared, unseeingly, at the ground for a long moment. His mouth twisted the tiniest bit. When he finally looked up, his eyes were different, harder--like the liquid gold had frozen solid.

"Bella, I don't want you to come with me." He spoke the words slowly and precisely, his cold eyes on my face, watching as I absorbed what he was really saying.

There was a pause as I repeated the words in my head a few times, sifting through them for their real intent.

"You...don't...want me?" I tried out the words, confused by the way they sounded, placed in that order.

"No."

I stared, uncomprehending, into his eyes. He stared back without apology. His eyes were like topaz--hard and clear and very deep. I felt like I could see into them for miles and miles, yet nowhere in their bottomless depths could I see a contradiction to the word he'd spoken.

"Well, that changes things." I was surprised by how calm and reasonable my voice sounded. It must be because I was so numb. I couldn't realize what he was telling me. It still didn't make any sense.

He looked away into the trees as he spoke again. "Of course, I'll always love you...in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time for a change. Because I'm..._tired_ of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I am not human." He looked back, and the icy planes of his perfect face were _not_ human. "I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry fr that."

"Don't." My voice was just a whisper now; awareness was beginning to seep through me, trickling like acid through my veins. "Don't do this."

He just stared at me, and I could see from his eyes that my words were far too late. He already had.

"You're not good for me, Bella." He turned his earlier words around, and so I had no argument. How well I knew that I wasn't good enough for him.

I opened my mouth to say something, and then closed it again. He waited patiently, his face wiped clean of all emotion. I tried again.

"If...that's what you want."

He nodded once.

My whole body went numb. I couldn't feel anything below the neck.

"I would like to ask one favor, though, if that's not too much," he said.

I wonder what he saw on my face, because something flickered across his own face in response. But, before I could identify it, he'd composed his features into the same serene mask.

"Anything," I vowed, my voice faintly stronger.

As I watched, his frozen eyes melted. The gold became liquid again, molten, burning down into mine with an intensity that was overwhelming.

"Don't do anything reckless or stupid," he ordered, no longer detached. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I nodded helplessly.

His eyes cooled, the distance returned. "I'm thinking of Charlie, of course. He needs you. Take care of yourself--for him."

I nodded again. "I will," I whispered.

He seemed to relax just a little.

"And I'll make you a promise in return," he said. "I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I'd never existed."

_**Page 76**_

"No, I don't think she's hurt. She just keeps saying 'He's gone.'"

_**Page 93**_

Time passes. Even when it seems impossible. Even which each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for me.

_**Page 97**_

"I don't think I can live through seeing you try _harder_. I've never seen anyone trying so hard. It hurts to watch."

******

"I want you to be happy--no, not even that much. I just want you not to be miserable."

_**Page 110**_

"Are you crazy? Are you suicidal?"

_**Page 111**_

In the instant that I heard his voice, everything was very clear. Like my head had suddenly surfaced out of some dark pool. I was more aware of everything--sight, sound, the feel of the cold air that I hadn't noticed was blowing sharply against my face, the smells coming from the open bar door.

_**Page 115**_

"You are so odd, Bella Swan. I feel like I don't know who you are."

_**Page 116**_

Instead of shying away from the memories, I'd walked forward and greeted them. I'd heard his voice, so clearly, in my head. That was going to cost me, I was sure of it. Especially if I couldn't reclaim the haze to protect myself. I felt too alert, and that frightened me.

******

As much as I struggled not to think of him, I did not struggle to _forget_. I worried--late in the night, when the exhaustion of sleep deprivation broke down my defenses--that it _was_ all slipping away. That my mind was a sieve, and I would someday not be able to remember the precise color of his eyes, the feel of his cool skin, or the texture of his voice. I could not _think_ of them, but I must _remember_ them. Because there was just one thing that I had to believe to be able to live--I had to know that he existed. That was all. Everything else I could endure. So long as he existed.

_**Page 125**_

As if he'd never existed? That was insanity. It was a promise that he could never keep, a promise that was broken as soon as he'd made it.

_**Page 127**_

Who would want to ride a motorcycle _here_? It would be like taking a sixty-mile-per-hour bath.

_**Page 138**_

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear."

_**Page 144**_

"So where to, Mr. Goodwrench?"

_**Page 179**_

"If this is how you're going to react, I'll freak out more often."

_**Page 201**_

I was like a lost moon--my planet destroyed in some cataclysmic, disaster-movie secenario of desolation--that continued, nevertheless, to circle in a tight little orbit around the empty space left behind, ignoring the laws of gravity.

_**Page 205**_

"I'm in the mood for action. Bring on the blood and guts!"

_**Page 219**_

One thing I truly knew--knew it in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my bones, knew it from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, knew it deep in my empty chest--was how love gave someone the power to break you.

_**Page 276**_

Life seemed dark enough at the moment that I let myself cheat. The hole--holes now--were already aching, so why not? I pulled out the memory--not a real memory that would hurt _too_ much, but the false memory of Edward's voice in my mind this afternoon--and played it over and over in my head until I fell asleep with the tears still streaming calmly down my empty face.

_**Page 279**_

"Bella!" it hissed. "Ouch! Damn it, open the window! OUCH!"

******

"I'm trying to keep"--he huffed, shifting his weight as the treetop bounced him--"my promise!"

******

"When did you ever promise to kill yourself falling out of Charlie's tree?"

_**Page 283**_

"Sometimes, loyalty gets in the way of what you want to do. Sometimes, it's not your secret to tell."

_**Page 288**_

"If I thought it was too...too risky, I wouldn't have come. But Bella," he looked at me again, "I made you a promise. I had no idea it would be so hard to keep, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try."

_**Page 339**_

I shook my head. "If I'm silly, then you're dangerously unbalanced."

_**Page 340**_

I shook my head sadly. Love is irrational, I reminded myself. The more you loved someone, the less sense anything made.

_**Page 342**_

Last spring break, I'd been hunted by a vampire, too. I hoped this wasn't some kind of tradition forming.

_**Page 345**_

"The hardest part is feeling...out of control," he said slowly. "Feeling like I can't be sure of myself--like maybe you _shouldn't_ be around me, like maybe nobody should. Like I'm a monster who might hurt somebody."

_**Page 361**_

I saw _him_, and I had no will to fight. It was so clear, so much more defined than any memory. My subconscious had stored Edward away in flawless detail, saving him for this final moment.

_**Page 376**_

Wouldn't Edward, indifferent as he might be, want me to be as happy as possible under the circumstances? Wouldn't enough friendly emotion linger for him to want that much for me? I thought he would. He wouldn't begrudge me this: giving just a small bit of love he didn't want to my friend Jacob. After all, it wasn't the same love at all.

_**Page 411**_

The prince was never coming back to kiss me awake from my enchanted sleep. I was not a princess, after all. So what was the fairy-tale protocol for _other_ kisses? The mundane kind that didn't break any spells?

_**Page 468**_

"I love a happy ending." Aro sighed. "They are so rare."

_**Page 490**_

Here in his arms, it was so easy to fantasize that he wanted me. I didn't want to think about his motivations now--about whether he acted this way to keep me calm while we were still in danger, or if he just felt guilty for where we were and relieved that he wasn't responsible for my death. Maybe the time apart had been enough that I didn't bore him for the moment. But it didn't matter. I was so much happier pretending.

_**Page 495**_

He continued to kiss my hair, my forehead, my wrists...but never my lips, and that was good. After all, how many ways can one heart be mangled and still be expected to keep beating? I'd lived through a lot that should have finished me in the last few days, but it didn't make me feel strong. Instead, I felt horribly fragile, like one word could shatter me.

_**Page 508**_

"The odds...," he muttered then, distracted. His voice was so low I wasn't sure I heard it right. "The odds are always stacked against us. Mistake after mistake. I'll never criticize Romeo again."

_**Page 509**_

"You weren't going to let go," he whispered. "I could see that. I didn't want to do it--it felt like it would kill me to do it--but I knew that if I couldn't convince you that I didn't love you anymore, it would just take you that much longer to get on with your life. I hoped that, if you thought _I'd_ moved on, so would you."

_**Page 510**_

"You're not asleep, and you're not dead. I'm here, and I love you. I _have_ always loved you, and I _will_ always love you. I was thinking of you, seeing your face in my mind, every second that I was away. When I told you that I didn't want you, it was the very blackest kind of blasphemy."

_**Page 514**_

"Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars--points of light and reason...And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything."

_**Page 527**_

What if you sincerely believed something was true, but you were dead wrong? What if you were so stubbornly sure that you were right, that you wouldn't even consider the truth? Would the truth be silenced, or would it try to break through?

_**Page 562**_

I knew that last glimpse of his face would haunt me until I saw him smile again.

_**Page 563**_

Edward squeezed me gently. "I'm here."

I drew in a deep breath.

That was true. Edward was here, with his arms around me.

I could face anything as long as that was true.

I squared my shoulders and walked forward to meet my fate, with my destiny solidly at my side.


	3. Eclipse

**Disclaimer: I don't own Eclipse. Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

--

**Eclipse Quotes**

_**Page 1**_

With ice in my heart, I watched him prepare to defend me. His intense concentration betrayed no hint of doubt, though he was outnumbered. I knew that we could expect no help -- at this moment, his family was fighting for their lives just as surely as he was for ours.

******

Black eyes, wild with their fierce craving for my death, watched for the moment when my protector's attention would be diverted. The moment when I would surely die.

_**Page 4**_

Yeah, I miss you, too. A lot. Doesn't change anything. Sorry.

Jacob

******

I could imagine the frustration pulling his black eyebrows together and crumpling his forehead. If I'd been there, I might have laughed. _Don't give yourself a brain hemmorhage, Jacob,_ I would have told him. _Just spit it out._

_**Page 5**_

What was surprising was how much each crossed-out line wounded me -- as if the points of the letters had cutting edges. More than that, behind each angry beginning lurked a vast pool of hurt; Jacob's pain cut me deeper than my own.

_**Page 6**_

I was mystified. Charlie cooking? And what was with the surly attitude? Edward wasn't here yet; usually my dad reserved this kind of behavior for my boyfriend's benefit, doing his best to illustrate the theme of "unwelcome" with every word and posture. Charlie's efforts were unnecessary -- Edward knew exactly what my dad was thinking without the show.

_**Page 7**_

Afternoons were the hardest part of my day. Ever since my former best friend (and werewolf), Jacob Black, had informed on me about the motorcycle I'd been riding on the sly -- a betrayal he had devised in order to get me grounded so that I couldn't spend time with my boyfriend (and vampire), Edward Cullen -- Edward had been allowed to see me only from seven till nine-thirty p.m., always inside the confines of my home and under the supervision of my dad's unfailingly crabby glare.

_**Page 12**_

Edward's return had taken its toll on Mike's friendship, but Angela was unswervingly loyal, and Ben followed her lead. Despite the natural aversion most humans felt toward the Cullens, Angela sat dutifully beside Alice every day at lunch. After a few weeks, Angela even looked comfortable there. It was difficult not to be charmed by the Cullens -- once one gave them the chance to be charming.

_**Page 14**_

"You're hurting Jake's feelings, avoiding him like this. He'd rather be just friends than nothing."

Oh, now _I_ was avoiding _him_?

******

"You and Billy gossip like old women," I complained, stabbing my fork viciously into the congealed spaghetti on my plate.

_**Page 15**_

I flipped the envelope over and then glared up at him. "It's open."

"I was curious."

"I'm shocked, Sheriff. That's a federal crime."

_**Page 17**_

Time had not made me immune to the perfection of his face, and I was sure that I would never take any aspect of him for granted. My eyes traced over his pale white features: the hard square of his jaw, the softer curve of his full lips -- twisted up into a smile now, the straight line of his nose, the sharp angle of his cheekbones, the smooth marble span of his forehead -- partially obscured by a tangle of rain-darkened brone hair....

******

I saved his eyes for last, knowing that when I looked into them I was likely to lose my train of thought. They were wide, warm with liquid gold, and framed by a thick fringe of black lashes. Staring into his eyes always made me feel extraordinary -- sort of like my bones were turning spongy. I was also a little lightheaded, but that could have been because I'd forgotten to keep breathing. Again.

_**Page 18**_

I knew that the scent of my blood -- so much sweeter to him than any other person's blood, truly like wine beside water to an alcoholic -- caused him actual pain from the burning thirst it engendered. But he didn't seem to shy away from it as much as he once had. I could only dimly imagine the Herculean effort behind this simple gesture.

_**Page 26**_

"It won't be the same for me," I whispered, half to myself. "You won't let me be like that. We'll live in Antarctica."

Edward snorted, breaking the tension. "Penguins. Lovely."

_**Page 29**_

His sincere curiosity disarmed me. "I'm not sure," I said, scrambling for coherency while his gaze unintentionally scattered my thoughts. "I think it's something about the inevitability. How nothing can keep them apart -- not her selfishness, or his evil, or even death, in the end..."

******

"It's a bit late for me to worry about who I fall in love with," I pointed out. "But even without the warning, I seem to have managed fairly well."

He laughed quietly. "I'm glad _you_ think so."

_**Page 33**_

"I'll never forgive myself for leaving you," he whispered. "Not if I live a hundred thousand years."

******

I flinched. I was used to Jacob and all his derogatory slurs -- _bloodsucker, leech, parasite_....Somehow it sounded harsher in Edward's velvet voice.

_**Page 34**_

I could feel Jacob's note in my pocket, like it suddenly weighed ten pounds. I could hear the words in his voice, and he seemed to be agreeing with Edward -- something that would never happen in reality.

_Doesn't change anything. Sorry._

_**Page 38**_

Ever since I'd said goodbye to Jacob Black in the forest outside my home, I'd been plagued by a persistent, uncomfortable intrusion of a specific mental picture. It popped into my thoughts at regular intervals like some annoying alarm clock set to sound every half hour, filling my head with the images of Jacob's face crumpled in pain. This was the last memory I had of him.

_**Page 39**_

"Is it naptime already, Alice?" Edward teased.

Alice was herself again. "Sorry, I was daydreaming, I guess."

"Daydreaming's better than facing two more hours of school," Ben said.

_**Page 47**_

"What did you _do_ to this?" he asked in a horrorstruck voice.

"It didn't want to come out of the dashboard."

"So you felt the need to torture it?"

"You know how I am with tools. No pain was inflicted intentionally."

He shook his head, his face a mask of faux tragedy. "You killed it."

******

I didn't answer, for fear my voice would shake. My disastrous eighteenth birthday -- with all its far-reaching consequences -- wasn't something I cared to remember, and I was surprised that he would bring it up. He was even more sensitive about it than I was.

_**Page 64**_

I stared at the shivering black glass for a long moment, until it was still. Then I sighed, and opened the window as wide as it would go.

_**Pages 90-91**_

It was later, in Calculus -- my one class without Edward -- that I heard the gossip.

"My money's on the big Indian," someone was saying.

I peeked up to see that Tyler, Mike, Austin, and Ben had their heads bent together, deep in conversation.

"Yeah," Mike whispered. "Did you see the _size_ of that Jacob kid? I think he could take Cullen down." Mike sounded pleased by the idea.

"I don't think so," Ben disagreed. "There's something about Edward. He's always so...confident. I have a feeling he can take care of himself."

"I'm with Ben," Tyler agreed. "Besides, if that other kid messed Edward up, you know those big brothers of his would get involved."

"Have you been down to La Push lately?" Mike asked. "Lauren and I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago, and believe me, Jacob's friends are all just as big as he is."

"Huh," Tyler said. "Too bad it didn't turn into anything. Guess we'll never know how it would have turned out."

"It didn't look over to me," Austin said. "Maybe we'll get to see."

Mike grinned. "Anyone in the mood for a bet?"

"Ten on Jacob," Austin said at once.

"Ten on Cullen," Tyler chimed in.

"Ten on Edward," Ben agreed.

"Jacob," Mike said.

"Hey, do you guys know what it was about?" Austin wondered. "That might affect the odds."

"I can guess," Mike said, and then he shot a glance at me at the same time that Ben and Tyler did.

From their expressions, none of them had realized I was in easy hearing distance. They all looked away quickly, shuffling the papers on their desks.

"I still say Jacob," Mike muttered under his breath.

_**Page 93**_

Emmett had said, "I'm really glad Edward didn't kill you. Everything's so much more fun with you around."

_**Page 94**_

I would never admit to him how hard it was for me when he was gone -- how it brought back the abandonment nightmares. If he knew that, it would make him feel horrible and he would be afraid to ever leave me, even for the most necessary reasons. It had been like that in the beginning, when he'd first returned from Italy. His golden eyes had turned black and he'd suffered from his thirst more than it was already necessary that he suffer. So I put on a brave face and all but kicked him out the door whenever Emmett and Jasper wanted to go.

_**Page 95**_

_I'll be back so soon you won't have time to miss me. Look after my heart -- I've left it with you._

_**Page 101**_

"Welcome back, Bella," he said, grinning. And the way he said the words made it sound like _welcome home_.

_**Page 102**_

"Edward left me last fall because he didn't think I should be hanging out with vampires. He thought it would be healthier for me if he left."

Jacob did a double take. He had to scramble for a minute. Whatever he'd been planning to say, it clearly no longer applied. I was glad he didn't know the catalyst bethind Edward's decision. I could only imagine what he'd think if he knew Jasper had tried to kill me.

_**Page 104**_

"The fortune-telling bloodsucker can't see us?" he echoed, his face both fierce and gleeful. "Seriously? That's _excellent_!"

_**Page 107**_

"Good. I mean, you were being stupid, but I'm glad. Emmett's never cautious enough. He could have gotten hurt."

_**Page 110**_

"I love _him_. Not because he's beautiful or because he's _rich_!" I spat the word at Jacob. "I'd much rather he weren't either one. It would even out the gap between us just a little bit -- because he'd still be the most loving and unselfish and brilliant and _decent_ person I've ever met. Of course I love him. How hard is that to understand?"

_**Page 111**_

I laughed once in disbelief. "Do you think Edward did? He didn't know what was happening to him any more than you did. He didn't exactly sign up for this."

******

"I don't see why not. You could be a _bit_ more understanding about the Cullens. You have no idea how truly good they are -- to the core, Jacob."

******

He frowned more deeply. "They shouldn't exist. Their existance goes against nature."

_**Page 112**_

This was why I was here. This was why I would take whatever reception waited for me when I got back. Because, underneath all the anger and the sarcasm, Jacob was in pain. Right now, it was very clear in his eyes. I didn't know how to help him, but I knew I had to try. It was more than that I owed him. It was because his pain hurt me, too. Jacob had become a part of me, and there was no changing that now.

_**Page 124**_

_Werewolves are unstable, _Edward had said. _The people near them get hurt._

_**Page 126**_

I flinched. As much as I worried about Jasper or Emmett getting hurt, it was nothing like the panic I felt at the idea of Jacob going up against Victoria. Emmett and Jasper were the closest thing to indestructible I could imagine. Jacob was still warm, still comparatively human. Mortal. I thought of Jacob facing Victoria, her brilliant hair blowing around her oddly feline face...and shuddered.

******

Jacob looked up at me with a curious expression. "But isn't it like that for you all the time? Having _him_ in your head?"

"Oh, no. Edward's never in my head. He only wishes."

Jacob's expression became confused.

"He can't hear me," I explained, my voice a tiny bit smug from old habit. "I'm the only one like that, for him. We don't know _why_ he can't."

"Weird," Jacob said.

"Yeah." The smugness faded. "It probably means there's something wrong with my brain," I admitted.

"I already knew there was something wrong with your brain," Jacob muttered.

"Thanks."

******

The sun broke through the clouds suddenly, a surprise I hadn't been expecting, and I had to narrow my eyes against the glare off the water. Everything changed color -- the waves turned from gray to blue, the trees from dull olive to brilliant jade, and the rainbow-hued pebbles glittered like jewels.

_**Page 149**_

"I know it's silly, but their hearts are in the right place."

******

"You are in trouble," I said slowly, emphasizing each word. "Enormous trouble. Angry grizzly bears are going to look tame next to what is waiting for you at home."

_**Page 170**_

I caught sight of Alice, frozen at the edge of the cafteteria, her eyes sparkling with fury, her lip curled back over her teeth.

_**Page 195**_

"It's late," he said again, murmuring, almost crooning now, his voice smoother than silk. "Sleep, my Bella. Dream happy dreams. You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. It will always be yours. Sleep, my only love."

_**Page 208**_

My life was feeling a lot like a game of dice right now -- would the next roll come up snake eyes? What if something _did_ happen to me? It seemed worse than petty to leave Jacob feeling guilty about what he'd said.

_**Page 216**_

He grinned. "Does my being half-naked bother you?"

_**Page 238**_

"Bella," he finally said -- still chuckling -- as he shut the door behind me, "you can't push what you don't have."

_**Page 263**_

It was too dark to see much besides the black triangles of the spruces leaning and shaking with the wind. But I straine my eyes anyway, searching for other shapes in the storm. A pale silhouette, moving like a ghost through the black...or maybe the shadowy outline of an enormous wolf...My eyes were too weak.

_**Page 268**_

"Amazing," Edward muttered. "How can someone so tiny be so annoying?"

_**Page 269**_

This simple knowledge, today's date -- which was so obvious that I must have been subconsciously repressing it -- made the deadline I'd been impatiently counting down toward feel like a date with the firing squad.

_**Page 274**_

"And the sound of your heart," he continued, more serious but still smiling a little. "It's the most significant sound in my world. I'm so attuned to it now, I swear I could pick it out from miles away. But neither of these things matter. _This_," he said, taking my face in his hands. "_You_. That's what I'm keeping. You'll always be my Bella, you'll just be a little more durable."

_**Page 286**_

And then I gasped, staring up at him. "Jasper, what _happened_ to you?"

_**Page 301**_

"'You've kept me waiting a long time,' she said."

I didn't realize Alice had come to stand behind me again.

"And you ducked your head, like a good Southern gentleman, and said, 'I'm sorry, ma'am.'" Alice laughed at the memory.

******

Jasper smiled down at her. "You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope."

_**Page 307**_

Edward groaned at my side and closed his eyes. "Damn it. Damn Laurent to the deepest pit of hell where he belongs."

_**Pages 308-309**_

"This isn't good," Jasper said. "It's too even a fight. We'd have the upper hand in skill, but not numbers. We'd win, but at what price?" His tense eyes flashed to Alice's face and away.

******

I wanted to scream out loud as I grasped what Jasper meant.

******

We would win, but we would lose. Some wouldn't survive.

******

I looked around the room at their faces -- Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rose, Esme, Carlisle...Edward -- the faces of my family.

_**Page 317**_

"How strong will _I _be?"

He grinned. "Stronger than I am."

"Stronger than Emmett?"

The grin got bigger. "Yes. Do me a favor and challenge him to an arm-wrestling match. It would be a good experience for him."

_**Page 319**_

I wanted Edward to come to me. I wanted to make both of them get out of their cars and shake hands and be friends -- be Edward and Jacob rather than _vampire_ and _werewolf_. It was as if I had those two stubborn magnets in my hands again, and I was holding them together, trying to force nature to reverse herself...

_**Page 337**_

"I want Carlisle to look at my hand. I think it's broken."

******

"What happened?" Edward demanded, his voice going flat.

"I punched Jacob," I admitted.

"Good," Edward said bleakly. "Though I'm sorry you're hurt."

_**Page 339**_

"Dad, don't you have a baseball bat somewhere in your room? I want to borrow it for a minute."

_**Page 342**_

Emmett watched curiously as Edward helped me carefully out of the car. His eyes zeroed in on the hand I cradled against my chest.

Emmett grinned. "Fall down again, Bella?"

I glared at him fiercely. "No, Emmett. I punched a werewolf in the face."

Emmett blinked, and then burst into a roar of laughter.

_**Page 344**_

But, in truth, I could handle that part -- because I trusted Edward, trusted him absolutely, to keep me from doing anything I would regret. I knew he'd take me to Antarctica and hunt penguins if I asked him to. And I would do whatever it took to be a good person. A good vampire. That thought would have made me giggle, if not for this new worry.

_**Page 345**_

Was there a human experience that I was _not_ willing to give up?

_**Page 347**_

"Stupid, thieving, annoying vampire!" I growled.

_**Page 349**_

"Edward had it wrong," I whispered. "It was a test...to see if it would work. If he could get in and out safely as long as he didn't do anything you would be watching out for. Like trying to kill me...And he didn't take my things to prove he'd found me. He stole my scent...so that _others_ could find me."

_**Page 365**_

This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine -- like he was afraid we only had so much time left to us.

_**Page 367**_

Edward refused to let me go for a second, dragging me along with him as he hunted up Jasper and then Carlisle to tell them of my epiphany. I listened with quiet horror as they discussed their attack on the army in Seattle. I could tell that Jasper was not pleased with the way the numbers stood, but they'd been unable to contact anyone besdies Tanya's unwilling family. Jasper didn't try to hide his desperation the way Edward would have. It was easy to see that he didn't like gambling with stakes this high.

_**Page 450**_

His lips were at my ear again. "Bella," he murmured, his voice warm and velvet. "Would you _please_ stop trying to take your clothes off?"

_**Page 457**_

"That's all right," he shrugged. "It can wait."

I sighed. "Show me the damn ring, Edward."

He shook his head. "No."

_**Page 460**_

"Isabella Swan?" He looked up at me through his impossibly long lashes, his golden eyes soft but, somehow, still scorching. "I promise to love you forever -- every single day of forever. Will you marry me?"

_**Page 462**_

"It's going to snow on the mountains," she warned him.

"Ew, snow," I muttered to myself. It was June, for crying out loud.

_**Page 467**_

"Not a chance," Alice gloated. "Bella would never do that to me. You know, Edward, as a brother, you are sometimes a disappointment."

_**Page 469**_

I had an idea. "Will this help?" I asked as I ran my fingers through my hair and caught a few loose strands. I draped them over the ferns.

"Yes, that does make the trail stronger. But you don't need to pull your hair out, Bella. It will be fine."

"I've got a few extras I can spare."

******

"Well, even if she does get her way, we can keep it small. Just us. Emmett can get a clerical license off the Internet."

I giggled. "That doues sound better." It wouldn't feel very official if _Emmett_ read the vows, which was a plus. But I'd have a hard time keeping a straight face.

_**Page 477**_

"I still think it's pretty irresponsible," Jacob suddenly said.

"Whatever you're talking about, you're wrong."

"Think about it, Bella. According to you, you'vee kissed just one person -- who isn't even really a person -- in your whole life, and you're calling it quits? How do you know that's what you want? Shouldn't you play the field a little?"

I kept my voice cool. "I know exactly what I want."

"Then it couldn't hurt to double check. Maybe you should try kissing someone else -- just for comparison's sake...since what happened the other day doesn't count. You could kiss _me_, for example. I don't mind if you want to use me to experiment."

******

"Don't mess with me, Jake. I swear I won't stop him if he wants to break your jaw."

_**Page 478**_

"Sometimes I think you like me better as a wolf."

"Sometimes I do. It probably has something to do with the way you _can't talk_."

_**Page 480**_

I kept whispering, my eyes shut. "If anyone gets hurt, it will always be my fault. And even if no one does...I was horrible. I had to be, to convince him to stay with me. _He_ won't hold it against me, but I'll always know what I'm capable of." I felt just a tiny bit better, getting this off my chest. Even if I could only confess it to Jacob.

******

"If everything does go without a hitch, you're probably right. I wouldn't be mad. But the whole time you're gone, I'll be sick with worry, Jake. Crazy with it."

"Why?" he asked gruffly. "Why does it matter to you if something happens to me?"

_**Page 486**_

Jacob looked up at the sky -- now black with the storm, sprinkled with the swirling bits of snow. His nostrils flared.

"I'm going to change," he said. "I want to know what's going on back home."

He hung his jacket on a low, stubby branch, and walked into the murky forest without a backward glance.

_**Page 489**_

A sudden howl ripped through the roar of the wind, and I covered my ears against the noise. Edward scowled.

"That was hardly necessary," he muttered. "And that's the worst idea I've ever heard," he called more loudly.

"Better than anything you've come up with," Jacob answered, his human voice startling me. _"Go fetch a space heater,"_ he grumbled. "I'm not a St. Bernard."

_**Page 490**_

"J-J-J-J-Jake, you'll f-f-f-freez-z-z-ze," I tried to complain.

"Not me," he said cheerfully. "I run at a toasty one-oh-eight point nine these days. I'll have you sweating in no time."

_**Page 497-499**_

"Does that bother you? Do you wish you could see what she's thinking, too?"

"Yes...and no, again. She likes it better this way, and, though it sometimes drives me insane, I'd rather she was happy."

The wind ripped around the tent, shaking it like an earthquake. Jacob's arms tightened around me protectively.

"Thank you," Edward whispered. "Odd as this might sound, I suppose I'm glad you're here, Jacob."

"You mean, 'as much as I'd love to kill you, I'm glad she's warm,' right?"

"It's an uncomfortable truce, isn't it?"

Jacob's whisper was suddenly smug. "I knew you were just as crazy jealous as I am."

"I'm not such a fool as to wear it on my sleeve like you do. It doesn't help your case, you know."

"You have more patience than I do."

"I should. I've had a hundred years to gain it. A hundred years waiting for _her_."

"So...at what point did you decide to play the very patient good guy?"

"When I saw how much it was hurting her to make her choose. It's not usually this difficult to control. I can smother the...less civilized feelings I may have for you fairly easily most of the time. Sometimes I think she sees through me, but I can't be sure."

"I think you were just worried that if you really forced her to choose, she might not choose you."

Edward didn't answer right away. "That was a part of it," he finally admitted. "But only a small part. We all have our moments of doubt. Mostly I was worried that she'd hurt herself trying to sneak away to see you. After I'd accepted that she was more or less safe with you -- as safe as Bella ever is -- it seemed best to stop driving her to extremes."

Jacob sighed. "I'd tell her all of this, but she'd never believe me."

"I know." It sounded like Edward was smiling.

"You think you know everything," Jacob muttered.

"I don't know the future," Edward said, his voice suddenly unsure.

There was a long pause.

"What would you do if she changed her mind?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know that either."

Jacob chuckled quietly. "Would you try to kill me?" Sarcastic again, as if doubting Edward's ability to do it.

"No."

"Why not?" Jacob's tone was still jeering.

"Do you really think I would hurt her that way?"

Jacob hesitated for a second, and then sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I know that's right. But sometimes..."

"Sometimes it's an intriguing idea."

Jacob pressed his face into the sleeping bag to muffle his laughter. "Exactly," he eventually agreed.

What a strange dream this was. I wondered if it was the relentless wind that made me imagine all the whispering. Only the wind was screaming rather than whispering...

"What is it like? Losing her?" Jacob asked after a quiet moment, and there was no hint of humor in his suddenly hoarse voice. "When you thought that you'd lost her forever? How did you...cope?"

"That's very difficult for me to talk about."

_**Page 505**_

Edward started humming to himself, louder than usual -- trying to drown out Jacob's thoughts, I assumed. But it was my lullaby he hummed, and, despite my growing discomfort with this whispered dream, I sank deeper into unconsciousness...into other dreams that made better sense....

_**Page 514**_

The howl tore through my mind like a tornado, both strange and familiar. Strange because I'd never heard such a tortured cry before. Familiar because I knew the voice at once -- I recognized the sound and understood the meaning as perfectly as if I'd uttered it myself. It made no difference that Jacob was not human when he cried out. I needed no translation.

_**Page 539**_

Had two entire seconds passed? It felt like hours. I was terrified to the point of nausea by the knowledge that something horrible had gone awry in the clearing. I opened my mouth to demand that Edward take me there, and do it now. They needed him, and they needed _me_. If I had to bleed to save them, I would do it. I would die to do it, like the third wife. I had no silver dagger in my hand, but I would find a way --

_**Page 542**_

She was so close to what she wanted -- the focus of her whole existance for more than a year now was just _so close_.

My death.

******

It would be quick -- she had no time for games here -- but it would be thorough. Something that it would be impossible to recover from. Something that even vampire venom could not repair.

_**Page 546**_

"Don't go, Victoria," he murmured in that same hypnotic tone as before. "You'll never get another chance like this."

She showed her teeth and hissed at him, but she seemed unable to move farther away from me.

"You can always run later," Edward purred. "Plenty of time for that. It's what you do, isn't it? It's why James kept you around. Useful, if you like to play deadly games. A partner with an uncanny instinct for escaping. He shouldn't have left you -- he could have used your skills when we caught up to him in Phoenix."

A snarl ripped from between her lips.

_**Page 609**_

The morning brought with it, if not a brighter outlook, at least a measre of control, some acceptance. Instinctively, I knew that the new tear in my heart would always ache. That was just going to be a part of me now. Time would make it easier -- that's what everyone always said. But I didn't care if time healed me or not, so long as Jacob could get better. Could be happy again.

_**Page 620**_

The rain started to drip through the clouds just then, a few scattered drops that made faint _thuds_ as they struck the grass.

I glowered at the sky.

"I'll get you home." He brushed the tiny beads of water from my cheeks.

"Rain's not the problem," I grumbled. "It just means that it's time to go do something that wil lbe very unpleasant and possibly even highly dangerous."

His eyes widened in alarm.

"It's a good thing you're bulletproof." I sighed. "I'm going to need that ring. It's time to tell Charlie."

He laughed at the expression on my face. "Highly dangerous," he agreed. He laughed again and then reached into the pocket of his jeans. "But at least there's no need for a side trip."

He once again slid my ring into place on the third finger of my left hand.

Where it would stay -- conceivably for the rest of eternity.


End file.
